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Nwabueze defends Made-in-Nigeria office, posts documents after ICPC ‘fake agency’ claim
George Nwabueze, accused by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) of promoting a fake federal agency, has defended the status of the National Brands Development and Made-in-Nigeria Special Project Office.
He posted documents he said showed that the initiative was linked to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).
Nwabueze, who describes himself as the National Coordinator and Executive Director of the project office, has continued to reject the ICPC’s allegation that the organisation was operating without government authorisation.
The documents shared by Nwabueze on LinkedIn include a purported appointment letter dated October 3, 2025, from the Office of the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs Office of the OSGF, as well as an earlier letter dated July 19, 2010, which he presented as evidence that the Made-in-Nigeria initiative had existed for years.
PREMIUM TIMES could not independently verify the authenticity of the documents.
The development comes days after the ICPC said President Bola Tinubu ordered the immediate arrest of Nwabueze, whom the commission identified as the promoter of the alleged fake office.
The president also ordered the suspension of three permanent secretaries: M.S. Danjuma, Nadungu Gagare and Richard P. Pheelangwah, following the discovery of the office, according to the ICPC.
The Commission said the organisation had been allocated space within the OSGF premises without presidential authorisation and alleged that some senior public servants had collaborated with its activities.
Nwabueze’s appointment letter
In one of the documents posted by Nwabueze and reviewed by PREMIUM TIMES, on the letterhead of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, conveyed what it described as the approval of his appointment as National Coordinator/Executive Director of the Made-in-Nigeria Project Office.
The letter, dated October 3, 2025, is referenced OSGF/MIN/59310/II/205 and addressed to “George Buchi Nwabueze, National Coordinator, Made in Nigeria Project Office, OSGF, Three Arms Zone, Abuja.”
It states that his appointment was for five years, beginning from July 2025, and was renewable.
The document says the appointment followed an assessment of Nwabueze’s “commitment, contribution, and capacity” to deliver the mandate of the Special Project Office.
It also lists his responsibilities as supervising programmes, projects, and policies; overseeing regional and state coordinators across the 36 states; and organising exhibitions, trade expos, economic summits, and other initiatives to promote indigenous products and services.
A second page of the document states that the project was to use temporary office space in Room B53, Ground Floor, within the OSGF complex “for the time being” to facilitate effective coordination.
It further states that the appointment was at the pleasure of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and aligned with the objectives of the Made-in-Nigeria initiative under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
The letter bears the name and signature of Nadungu Gagare, identified as the Permanent Secretary of the Political and Economic Affairs Office.
The appointment letter is significant because the ICPC’s allegation centres partly on whether the project office had official authorisation to operate within the OSGF.
However, PREMIUM TIMES has not independently established the authenticity of the document.
Nwabueze traces the project to 2010
In another document shared on Sunday, Nwabueze sought to trace the initiative back to 2010.
The letter, dated July 19, 2010, is addressed to “Buchi George”, then described as Executive Director of The Hats Centre in Owerri, Imo State.
It acknowledges receipt of a proposal dated July 16, 2010, seeking endorsement for a “Made in Naija” project planned to take place in Ireland as part of activities marking Nigeria’s 50th anniversary.
The letter, referenced NIG@ 50/S.7/C,3/45, states that the proposal should be forwarded to the Nigerian High Commission in Ireland for possible consideration.
Nwabueze relied on the document to argue that the Made-in-Nigeria initiative predates the current controversy by more than a decade.
“History and facts, from Made in Naija since 15th June 2010 to the Made in Nigeria project office,” he wrote in a LinkedIn post accompanying the document.
He questioned how a programme he claimed had existed for 16 years could suddenly be described as a fictitious government body.
PREMIUM TIMES could not independently confirm the authenticity or present status of the 2010 letter.
Nwabueze had also earlier posted another document dated April 17, 2025, proposing to grant the Made-in-Nigeria initiative the status of a special project.
The document was signed by Gagare and addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
It said the initiative had been promoting Nigerian products and services locally and internationally and had organised economic forums and trade exhibitions.
It also listed potential benefits of granting the project special status, including job creation, economic growth, poverty reduction, increased domestic production, and reduced dependence on imported goods.
However, the document revealed that the project’s activities would undergo review, along with an examination of its operational modalities, to ensure clarity and effectiveness.
That detail leaves an important question over the precise administrative status of the initiative at the time Nwabueze was appointed.
Government engagements under scrutiny
Nwabueze’s defence comes against the backdrop of records showing that the organisation had established contacts with government institutions before the ICPC’s disclosure.
As PREMIUM TIMES previously reported, government records showed engagements involving the project in Abia and Anambra.
The organisation had also presented itself on its website as a strategic initiative of the OSGF, with a national coordinator, zonal directors, state coordinators and representatives in the United States and China.
Its website described the project as responsible for promoting Nigerian products, supporting small and medium enterprises, attracting investment, and organising trade fairs and economic forums.
ALSO READ: UPDATED: Tinubu suspends three permanent secretaries over fresh fake agency, orders alleged promoter’s arrest
The website also identified Nwabueze as its National Coordinator and Executive Director.
Those claims became significant after the ICPC said the office was operating without presidential authorisation.
The controversy, therefore, goes beyond whether Nwabueze was appointed to a position bearing the name of a Made-in-Nigeria project.
It raises questions about the legal and administrative status of the office, who authorised its activities, how it secured space within the OSGF premises and the extent to which public officials interacted with it.
Lingering Concerns
Nwabueze’s documents provide his account of the organisation’s history and his relationship with the OSGF, but they have not settled the dispute over its status.
The ICPC has maintained that the office was one of the fictitious government structures uncovered during its investigation into the alleged Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.
The commission said Nwabueze was the promoter of the organisation and alleged that it operated with the backing of some public servants.
Nwabueze, however, has rejected the description and insists that the organisation is a project office under the OSGF.
The conflicting accounts now place greater importance on the outcome of the ICPC investigation.
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The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has backed the Federal Government’s economic reform programme, saying the measures have produced measurable improvements in Nigeria’s fiscal and macroeconomic position.
The group, however, said the gains would have limited meaning unless they translate into higher productivity, increased investment, more jobs and improved living standards for Nigerians.
The CPPE made the position known in a statement issued by its Chief Executive Officer, Muda Yusuf, on Sunday, five days after the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Taiwo Oyedele, presented the Federal Government’s economic reform scorecard.
The scorecard, presented on 19 August in Abuja, assessed the benefits, costs and potential harms prevented by the reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The reforms, which include the removal of the petrol subsidy and changes to the foreign exchange market, have significantly altered Nigeria’s fiscal and economic landscape since June 2023.
While the government said the measures have strengthened public finances, improved foreign exchange stability, and restored investor confidence, they have also increased the cost of living and of doing business, with Nigerians continuing to contend with high food, energy, and financing costs.
Mr Yusuf said the government’s disclosure of the reform outcomes was important because transparency was necessary to build public confidence in the measures.
“Such transparency is critical to reform credibility,” he said, while welcoming what he described as the minister’s balanced acknowledgement of both the gains and adjustment costs of the reforms.
‘Stability must translate to better lives’
According to the CPPE, the reforms have delivered improvements in government revenue, foreign exchange market stability, external reserves, trade balance and investor confidence.
It noted that Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product growth strengthened to 3.89 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, from 3.13 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2025.
However, Mr Yusuf said improved economic indicators should not become the ultimate measure of the reforms.
“Macroeconomic stability is a means, not an end.”
“The real test is whether stability translates into higher productivity, stronger investment, more jobs, lower poverty and improved living standards.”
He added that the transition remained incomplete, noting that households continued to face pressure on their purchasing power while businesses were dealing with high energy, financing, logistics and regulatory costs.
The CPPE therefore urged the government to make productivity and competitiveness the focus of the next phase of its reform programme.
The call comes against the background of the government’s own admission that household welfare remains an unfinished aspect of the reforms.
At the presentation of the scorecard, the minister acknowledged that the reforms had imposed high costs on Nigerians, including higher petrol prices and interest rates.
He said the Monetary Policy Rate had risen from 18.5 per cent in May 2023 to 26.5 per cent, while petrol prices increased from about N185 per litre before subsidy removal to between N1,100 and N1,400.
He also noted that poverty and household welfare recovery remained areas where the government could not yet claim victory.
States must show what higher revenues are achieving
The CPPE also raised concerns about how the increased fiscal resources available to state governments are being utilised.
It said the reforms had substantially expanded the fiscal space of state governments through increased statutory allocations and, in some cases, stronger internally generated revenue.
Mr Yusuf noted that the additional resources should result in visible improvements in public services.
“Citizens should demand measurable outcomes in roads, healthcare, public transportation, education, agricultural infrastructure, security, power and enterprise support,” he said.
He warned that higher revenues should not simply finance increased recurrent expenditure and prestige projects.
“Higher revenues must produce a visible development and welfare dividend.”
In its reform scorecard, the Federal Government said N15.8 trillion in subsidy savings accrued to the Federation between June 2023 and December 2025.
Of that amount, N5.4 trillion went to the Federal Government, while state and local governments shared N10.4 trillion.
The CPPE said the increased fiscal space should therefore be reflected in better development outcomes at the subnational level.
Electricity, logistics, and financing remain major obstacles
Mr Yusuf said the government’s next reform priority should be the supply side of the economy, particularly the structural constraints that continue to make production expensive in Nigeria.
He identified electricity, logistics, insecurity, agricultural productivity, infrastructure, regulatory costs and access to affordable capital as major constraints to businesses.
The CPPE pointed to the contraction of the electricity sector by 15.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2026, compared with growth of 3.29 per cent in manufacturing and 3.15 per cent in agriculture.
It said stronger growth in the productive sectors would require a deliberate reduction in the cost of these critical inputs.
The group also called for a trade policy that protects industries and agricultural producers with genuine local capacity from unfair import competition, while ensuring that producers can access critical inputs that are not sufficiently available locally.
Mr Yusuf also raised concerns about the prevailing high-interest-rate environment.
He said that as inflation moderates, stronger coordination between fiscal and monetary authorities should create room for a gradual reduction in financing costs without undermining macroeconomic stability.
CPPE warns against reversing reforms
Despite its concerns about the costs and implementation of the reforms, the CPPE said reversing them would be damaging to the economy.
READ ALSO: Tinubu’s reforms yielding results, GDP rises to $375bn — Yilwatda
Mr Yusuf said abandoning the reform trajectory could undermine investor confidence, weaken fiscal stability and destabilise the foreign exchange market.
“Reversing the reforms would be profoundly damaging to the economy.”
He, however, called for the government to continuously adjust the reform instruments based on evidence, implementation experience and their impact on businesses and households.
“The reform trajectory should therefore be sustained, while implementation is continuously refined in response to emerging realities,” he said.
According to the CPPE, the next phase of the reforms should move decisively from economic stabilisation to productivity, while ensuring that higher government revenues translate into better development outcomes and that improving macroeconomic indicators eventually result in higher incomes, more jobs and better living standards.
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